


Salvation

by imdead1770



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29779155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imdead1770/pseuds/imdead1770
Summary: In the Battle of Hogwarts, you saved your beloved professor's life, and now you're attending your last year of Hogwarts. Will you finally tell him how you feel?
Relationships: Severus Snape/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

Savior

I was already somewhat accepting my fate for this rather untimely death, when someone walked in. My vision was blurry from the loss of blood, so I didn't see who it was. From the sharp and audible gasp I heard that followed their entrance, I knew it was a girl. 

"Professor!" I heard her cry out faintly. At least I wouldn't die alone, I vaguely thought. I felt her come closer, and drop to my side. Before my vision ran out totally, I could make out that she was reaching for something in her cloak. She was quietly crying. She pulled out something that seamed to gleam in what little light was in this room. Shortly after that, I could hear and see no more, and there was darkness. 

In this darkness, I began to judge myself, and in judging myself, judging my actions. And not just in what I did that day or week, or in that year, but throughout my whole life. My life had amounted to nothing on my part. I helped out some, was a standerby to murder in most cases. Was this all I was supposed to become? A helping hand, for the good and the bad?

And did I waste most of this life, loving someone who wasn't even there...? I did. It was meaningless. My love for her, was meaningless in the end. At this, I began to see a light. Heaven, was my first thought. Now am I to face judgment from my creator? If I am, then oh how he will judge. Perhaps he will take one look at me, and throw me into "the abyss", more commonly known as hell. 

But- this light was a little more different from what I thought it would be... I'm beginning to see the same girl I saw seemingly hours ago. Wasn't she just alive? And why am I back in the dark room? I started to realize that I was, as they say, "coming back to life". My vision was becoming more clearer, and I could hear explosions. 

"Professor, it's going to hurt, but you have to get up. We have to get in the castle, someone's going to come barging in any minute... Professor!" I looked at her, and finally recognized her. She was a student I had seen sparsely over the years. She was in the same year as Potter, but a Ravenclaw. I straightened up, leaning against the wall, and she was right- this did hurt. 

"Shit," she whispered to herself, standing up and walking over to a window. After a moment of standing there, she came back over to me, grabbing my hand, and pulling. I worked with her, standing up. I groaned as pain spiked through my neck and chest. I noticed that my shirt was arranged differently. "You're going to have to lean on me if we're going to get anywhere, the poison is gone, but the effects of it are still there," she told me. I gladly did so, putting my arm around her shoulders. A thought occurred to me.

"Did you- sssss- save me?" It was extremely difficult to talk, but I managed to get that sentence out. She had already begun to lead me out. The door of the Shrieking Shack had been blasted open. 

"Yeah," she confirmed to me. She took a deep, quivering breath, and I noticed that her face was stained with tears. I decided not to ask her about it, but I did ask her another question;

"Why?" She seemed to almost freeze in her tracks, but continued to walk me through the splintered doorway.

"Well- because- it's the right thing to do, right?" I could tell that it wasn't the full truth, but I didn't inquire further. We walked along the lawn, where there were surprisingly no bodies. I tried not to put my full weight on her, but that was difficult to do too. "We're going to have to apparate," she said abruptly. "It's too dangerous here... and- no offense- but you're... really heavy--"

"Thank you," I interrupted her. "I believe... no one else would huh-haaave done what you did." I felt a little ashamed that I didn't even know her name. She glanced at me, and I noticed that her eyes were watering.

"It was no problem," she told me in a wavering voice, pulling out her wand. She took another deep breath, but this one was more steady. She held onto my shoulder a little more firmly. "Okay... one... two... three!" We spun, and the all too familiar feeling of not being able to breathe took over me. Hogwarts disappeared before my eyes, and was replaced with the potions classroom. 

I would've asked her why she chose to come here, but the door was suddenly blasted open, and I saw nothing but black. Again, in this darkness, I was conscious, but this time, I was without the thought that I was dying, or dead. I heard faint screams and yells, and more blasts. I wanted to help, but I couldn't move. The only movement I could somewhat manage was my fingertips. I bent them ever so slightly, trying to get the rest of my body to move. I unconsciously related this state to sleep paralysis. 

This worked quicker than I thought, and I was soon able to lift my eyelids. An annoying ring in my ear had developed, and I saw a flash of green light. My heart jumped at the thought that the girl might have just died, but then I heard her call out my name;

"Professor!" She sounded panicked. My arms weakly helped me sit up, and I caught a glimpse of her stepping over a corpse before immediately laying back down from the extreme dizziness that had followed. I stared at the ceiling a little dumbfoundedly. She appeared at my side for the second time that night, and grabbed my hand, pulling me up. And, again, I worked with her the best that I could. 

I leaned on her instantly from my faintness. She groaned, pulling me into the classroom. There was another corpse in here, surrounded by a pool of blood. I wondered if she had done that. I staggered into her a little as we stepped around it. I felt a twinge of embarrassment on my behalf. She let me down on a wooden chair, and I promptly sat down and laid my head on the desk. Shit, I felt so sick. I looked up from my arms and saw her look around nervously, before heading into the storage closet. I looked back at the body warily. There was a huge gash in his head. I recognized him as Lanford, a deatheater I had seen only a few times. He tended to always lurk in the shadows.

She suddenly came back around the corner with a small white cloth and a bottle of alcohol. I straightened up. She walked over to me and tilted my head up. I sharply inhaled and winced from the sudden pain. She had an apologetic look on her face. "It's not that bad, but I still have to clean it so then it doesn't get infected," she informed me. "I'm all out of the phoenix tears." I took a guess that that's what she used to heal me. "Keep your head up," she softly ordered, removing her hand. 

She poured some of the alcohol on the cloth, and set the bottle down on the desk. She then put her hand back to my chin, holding my head up again. "I'm sorry, this is going to hurt a lot." She then placed the cloth to my wound, and it suddenly felt like my throat was on fire. I winced again, but held in my voice this time. "I'm sorry," she repeated, whispering. 

She softly patted the skin of my neck, removing the blood. She removed the cloth after what seemed like an hour, putting it on the table. She pulled out of her pocket a medium bandaid. She peeled the plastic off and carefully applied it to my neck. "This should help clot the blood..." she trailed off. When she finished, She looked at my shirt, and I noticed her face go a little red. "Uh- the snake bit you in the- in the chest too, so could you unbutton your shirt for me?" I nodded, doing so. When I was done, her face was scarlet. She poured a little more alcohol on the cloth and repeated what she had done for my neck. Again, when done, she applied a medium bandage. "Done," she muttered. She grabbed the supplies and left again.

Her kindness was deeply surprising me. She saved me from what was supposed to be my death, and now she's taking care of me? My fingers drummed on my knee a little impatiently- I wanted to know more about her. What was her name? I heard a faucet run and then turn off after a moment.

About two minutes after that, she came back with the same cloth, but cleaned. "Make sure you don't talk," she told me, as she gently moved my hair out of my face. She put the cloth to my face and swiped it slowly. 

"Your face was a little dirty," she explained at the confused look on my face. I looked into her soft and sympathetic e/c eyes. She looked sad. I wanted to perform legilimency on her, but for the first time ever, it seemed like an invasion of privacy and a break of trust. Reading her thoughts seemed disrespectful at the moment. The temptation was strong, but I resisted. 

She continued to wipe my face until she seemed to deem it good enough. She set the cloth on the desk again and sighed. "Are you- uhm, okay...?" she asked me. Her face was no longer red. I nodded, almost dazed. She had to be an angel. Never had I ever met someone so perfect. Lily was far from my mind at those hours. 

"Okay, then I'll be back in a little bit," she suddenly told me, going towards the door. I quickly grabbed her wrist in my panic. She looked back at me, and I noticed her face go slightly pink. I shook my head, but she gently removed my hand. "I'm sorry, but my friends are still out there fighting," she told me with a certain braveness. It was only then that I noticed how pretty she was. "If you hear someone coming, please don't try to fight them." And then she left.


	2. Chapter 2

Coming Back

"Y/n!" You turned around to be faced with your best friend, Padma Patil running towards you. You smiled.

"Padma!" you called back, opening your arms for a hug. You both tightly embraced, almost knocking you over. She laughed in a relieved way. You broke apart after a moment. "Hey, I missed you!"

"I know, I missed you too," she said, wiping her eyes. "This summer has been so boring. Hanging with Parvati's been a bum, since... well, you know..." she trailed off. The reminder of the loss of Lavender hurt your stomach.

"Yeah," you agreed. After a long pause, you asked, "Is she coming this year?" She shook her head.

"No, but I know Hermione is coming back to finish her last year. Ron and Harry aren't though." 

"That sounds like them," you said with a small smile. 

"Tch, you know they don't want to see Professor Snape again. Heh, they thought he was dead!" This reminder of him gave you a small blush, but Padma thankfully didn't notice. 

"I'm sure it's not all because of Snape-"

"It definitely is! I bet you two Galleons they would have come back if he wasn't here."

"You're on," you told her with a smirk. "I bet you two Galleons that Snape isn't the major factor in their absence."

"Alright, alright, the bet is set." She held out her hand, and you shook it accordingly.

"No going back!" 

"You'll be the one trying to go back," she told you, breaking the hand shake. "But anyway, let's get on the train and find seats. The train is probably really overcrowded with people who didn't get to attend last year, the new first years, and everyone else."

"Right." 

A few minutes later, you both had managed to find a compartment that was occupied by only two. After stowing away your bags, Padma sat next to the fifth year Hufflepuff boy, and you sat next to the second year Slytherin girl. You were about to ask the names of them, when the compartment door opened. 

"Hermione!" you and Padma both shouted, immediately attacking her with a big hug. She tried to hug back, but you and Padma had pinned her arms to her side.

"Y/n, Padma! How are you guys?" she asked once you and Padma had released her. Padma responded first;

"Hanging in there," she said smiling. You nodded to show your agreement. "What about you? How are your parents?"

"Oh, they're doing really great, and so am I. When I found them, they seemed alright. When I took off the enchantment, they were so confused."

"Were they mad that you did that? You know, obliviated them?" you asked her. 

"Not as mad as I thought they would be. But I also haven't told them the whole story of what happened last year."

"Ah, that must be why," Padma said, shaking her head. "If I did that to my parents and they found out- let's just say I wouldn't be here right now," Padma said.

"Wow, really making me feel better," Hermione said sarcastically, smiling. You were going to ask about how things were with Ron, but you unconsciously connected him with Lavender, and chose not to bring him up. "How was your birthday y/n?" Hermione suddenly asked. "How does it feel to be nineteen?"

"Oh, don't get me started," you said, sitting back down next to the Slytherin. "I'm literally the oldest student here. Y'know, kinda makes me feel... powerful." Padma snorted. "What?" you asked her indignantly. "I was only joking!"

"I know, it was just funny." Her and Hermione sat down across from you. You yawned, covering your mouth. "Had a late night last night?" 

"Yeah. Couldn't sleep."

"Oh? I slept like a baby- OH YEAH! Hermione!" Padma started loudly, startling Hermione.

"W-what?!"

"Did Ron and Harry decide not to come because of Snape?!" Hermione looked at her for a second, processing the question.

"I- uuhm- maybe? I'm not... sure?"

"You see, me and y/n made a deal," she said in a business-like tone, making you roll your eyes. "If they didn't come because Snape is still here, then I get two Galleons. And if they didn't come for other reasons, she gets two Galleons." 

"Sounds interesting. I'll write them a letter for you guys."

* * *

"Wake up!"

"Mmm... huh?" You slowly opened your eyelids to see Padma standing over you. You rubbed your eyes, yawning. "Are we there?"

"Yeah, finally. Now come on!" She tried dragging you out the seat, and succeeded. You stood up and leaned against the wall. "Beggars can't be choosers," she said randomly. You gave her a confused look before grabbing your bag out the compartment. You followed Padma off the train and to a carriage, but there was a dramatic difference.

You gaped at the dead skinless horses with a mixture of disbelief, disgust, and interest. You pointed at them, saying;

"Padma, look." She looked, but did not seem to be fazed.

"Yeah, they're creepy. I try not to look at them too much,"she said, looking away. You looked at her.

"You mean... what? How long have you been able to see them?" 

"Same as you, we both saw a lot of death a few months ago. I just encountered them a lot this summer, so I'm used to them."

"Oh... Well what happened to Hermione?" you asked as you stepped into the fancy wagon.

"She has prefect duties, remember?"

"Still? I thought they would have chosen another one by now..." you rested your head against the wall, shutting your eyes.

"Wake up!" 

"Huh?!"

"You fell asleep again!"

"I just closed my eyes for a second-! Oh." You indeed had fallen asleep, because as you looked out the window, you saw the steps to Hogwarts right outside. "That's impossible! I don't even remember-"

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say. Now let's go!" You, again, followed her out of the carriage. You gave the thestrals one last look before going up the steps. You had a strange urge to know what they felt like. You shivered.

* * *

"Look, look! McGonagall's about to make her speech!"

"Shut up, she's trying to talk!"

Indeed, the mood was very different from when Dumbledore made his speeches. The noise had instantly gone down when she stood up, rather than it gradually dying down. She was way scarier and stricter than Dumbledore had been, except obviously when he was enraged. It was much better than last year though. Snape hadn't said anything. Food appeared right after the Sorting Hat was done, and when the food disappeared, everyone was sent right to their dormitories. That was scary. It had set a precedent for what the rest of the year would look like, save for the violence...

"Students of Hogwarts, I can't put into words how happy I am to see your faces here tonight... I am so sorry many of you could not attend last year for safety reasons. It goes without saying that this year will be much safer for everyone." She paused, looking at everyone. "As always, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits, and no one should be out of their dormitories after nine o'clock. I don't have much else to say, so I won't keep you all waiting. Bon appetit." She sat down as food appeared in front of everyone, and you marveled at the mountain of (favorite/food). You (scooped/grabbed) as much as you could onto your plate.

"Shit," You heard someone say. The Great Hall became loud and rowdy once again. 

"Hey Padma?" you started.

"Mmm?" Her mouth was full with food.

"How come you encountered so many thestrals over the summer?" She swallowed her food quickly, gasping for air.

"Shit! Hold on," she told you, grabbing her goblet and draining it. Again, she gasped. She took deep breaths. "We went on a camping trip somewhere to try and make us forget what happened," she said after a moment. "They didn't tell us that was their purpose, but it was kinda obvious."

"Hm." You took a bite of your own food, looking around. Goosebumps suddenly erupted all over your skin. You rubbed your neck, furrowing your eyebrows. Someone was watching you. "Padma," you muttered. She hummed questioningly. "Can you look around to see if someone's looking at me...?"

"Sure...?" She looked around at the tables of students. After a minute, she looked at the teacher's table, and immediately averted her eyes, cussing. "Shit, I just had awkward eye contact with Snape," she said with deep cringe. You laughed. 

"So did you see anyone?"

"No. Sorry ha ha..." You sighed. Maybe it's just me. You twirled a strand of your hair, resting your head on your hand. You weren't hungry anymore. You looked up at the teacher's table, and locked eyesight with Snape. You blushed madly, looking back at your food. Idiot, you cursed at yourself. Your pressed your cold palms against your cheeks, trying to calm down. Seven years of crushing on him, but you still had trouble hiding it. It was quite embarrassing for you. Not even Padma knew who your secret crush was, though she did know you had one. In fact, when it came to anything about Snape, you rarely told her anything. For some reason, saving him a few months ago didn't make you anymore confident.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, just to be clear, y/n is in her 8th year (in this story it's an optional choice for people who already finished their seventh year). So her and Padma attended Hogwarts for their seventh year in the same year y/n saved Snape's life. Lmao I did this so then their relationship can't be considered illegal, and so then Snape doesn't seem like a pervert. Thank you and byye.


	4. Chapter 4

Of course to start off the week, Potions was your first class, which was great and all, because it wasn't like you got super shy and flustered around him or anything. He wasn't in the Great Hall for breakfast that morning though. You couldn't wait to see him, despite feeling like you would throw up what little breakfast you had managed to get down.

"Hurry up, Padma! If we're late for Potions, and he'll give us detention," you told her as she swallowed a spoonful of her oatmeal. She shrugged.

"Nothing new," she said nonchalantly. "Don't we have twenty more minutes before class starts anyway?"

"Yes, which is why we need to hurry up!" She contemplated for a moment. "You know how long it takes to get to the dungeons," you said, trying to persuade her. She finally shoved all of her food in her mouth, and then stood up, grabbing her bag. 

"Hmm hm." You supposed that meant "okay" or "alright". You practically dragged out of the Great Hall and into the corridor. You wondered why you chose to torture yourself with nerves by purposely arriving early to his class. 

By the time you both arrived, you found yourself hoping that she couldn't hear your fast-beating heart. You had managed to straighten your clothes when she wasn't looking. She knocked on the door, examining her nails after. When the door opened, you almost immediately had eye contact with Snape. He looked much different than you remembered him. He looked kind of... cleaner? His hair no longer shined with what all the students suspected was grease, but now seemed to be soft to the touch. You looked away as you felt your face heat up.

"Come in," he said, stepping aside to hold the door open. You noticed Padma give him a weird look before stepping inside. You followed her, staring at the floor.

"Miss y/l/n. Stay behind, I need to speak with you." A wave of butterflies shot through your stomach. The thought of talking with him excited you, but panic took place immediately after that thought. Did I do something wrong? Shit, what? Padma grabbed your arm.

"It's okay, I don't think he's in a bad mood today," she whispered in your ear. You nodded to show your agreement, and slightly waved as she continued to a desk in the back. You stepped back outside the classroom, looking at him.

"I understand that you have excelled in all of your classes these last few years, especially mine. You are nineteen, correct?" he asked. It took you a moment to process his question. You nodded quickly, a little embarrassed. He hummed, looking down at a paper in his hands. He seemed to be thinking about something. "The Headmaster suggested something quite out of the ordinary for you this year," he said casually, holding out the paper. He wants me to read this? You noticed it looked like a contract. There were three signature lines at the bottom, and two were already filled. You took the paper shyly, and read;

"The position of a teacher's aide at Hogwarts is an honorary offer that can give one a great boost in job offers. This position is being offered to you as a result of your extraordinary grades over the last seven years of your education here. 

If you choose to take up on this opportunity, then you will aide the teacher of your chosen major. He or she will set their own rules for you, but one rule that you must always follow in regards to your teacher, is that you must always be there for him or her when summoned. 

If you are caught breaking the rules or letting your grades fall, this contract will be terminated There is also a set of privileges that will be given to you by your teacher. If you abuse those privileges, there will be consequences.

I hope you decide to go through with this and find it to your liking.

Sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall

You stared at the paper, shocked. Am I dreaming? You noticed that Snape was looking at you a little expectantly. It was only then that you realized that you had chosen Potions as your major this year. Holy shit. Being alone with Snape? He suddenly spoke up;

"I understand if you do not wish to be my aide for the year. If it helps, I can speak with the Headmaster instead about switching your major-"

"No!" you interrupted him. He looked a little taken aback at your sudden outburst. You fought hard against your blush. "I mean- I do want to be your aide, I think it would be really cool. I don't want to switch majors." You stared at his black shoes, wishing you could make yourself invisible.

"I'm very pleased you feel that way," he finally said. "So will you sign the paper?" You nodded again. "Good. You may enter now." You did so, making your way to Padma. She seemed to have been watching the whole time. 

"What was that all about?" she asked as you sat down. You showed her the paper. After scanning the paper, she gaped. "No way! This is so cool, you should totally do this!" You smiled a little, taking back the paper. 

"Yeah, I want to...-"

"Wait, didn't you pick Potions as your major?" You nodded. She raised her eyebrows. "Well, I don't know about being Snape's aide... I mean, maybe this year, he does kind of seem better than the last seven... oh yeah, so apparently, we're doing amortentia today," she told you, pointing at the the front of the classroom. You looked, and saw that word written across it. It was your turn to raise your eyebrows.

"Oh wow. That's sudden."

"Right?"

After a few minutes of waiting, the door closed. Closed. Not slammed. You and Padma had both instinctively flinched, expecting it to be louder. You almost laughed out loud. The class attendance had amounted to six students by then. As Snape made his way past you and towards his desk, you caught his scent. He smelled good, but not in a perfume ish way, but in a nice natural way. It kind of made you feel a little dizzy. In that moment, you had no doubt that that's what amortentia smelled like. You sighed. Whoever's out there, please help me get through this class, you pleaded in your head.

"Eighth years, please open your textbooks to page 96. As you may have already noticed on the board, I am in fact trusting you all to successfully brew amortentia, but if I so much as see any of you take a single drop, you will be severely punished. You are all hopefully mature enough now to know what I tolerate in this classroom, and what I don't. I don't suspect I need to give you any further instruction. Get started." 

Almost an hour later, he was all you could smell, even though you had literally just found out what he smelled like. You allowed yourself to daydream a little bit about him, but still made sure not to mess up your potion, which was now a pretty lilac color. He was walking around and inspecting everyone's potion, and had almost made his way toward you when-

BOOM!

There were a few shouts, and you almost dropped a full bottle of moonstone powder into your potion in your surprise. A cloud of smoke had enveloped one of the students, and was slowly settling around them. Snape magically removed the smoke to reveal a Gryffindor.

"Mister Finnigan, why did you choose to take another year here?" he asked. Seamus' hair was all puffed up, and his face like it so often was in that classroom, was dirty. You heard Padma giggle.

"Uh, well I just wanted to major in Divination just for shits and giggles, but that didn't work out, so..." He looked around as if looking for someone to help him. Everyone had a look of surprise on their face. He just cursed in front of Snape. You noticed Padma was trying to keep herself from bursting out laughing. The corner of Snape's mouth twitched.

"I will not reprimand you for your language today, Finnigan, but the next time you decide to utter a swear in front of me, it will be a horrible detention. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."


End file.
